stroll down memory lane...

every time i get a jcrew catalog i stop whatever i'm doing for at least 10 minutes to page through and check out the color schemes.... it's not that i really buy that many things from them, or even that i particularly like all of their shapes and sillouhettes, but the COLORS.

last week, when boone and i FINALLY went to post office box after about a week of putting it off, i found the new balinese vacation edition and promptly started devouring it cover to cover. here's the thing... first, i had an issue using children from bali as props for the shoot. then, as i looked at the photos i realized that boone and i had been to the exact same spot as the Ubud temple and monkey temple shots. cray-zy.

knowing that we'd actually been to the spots in the shoot made me also realize how awful it must have been to be a model wearing at least 3 layers of clothing on the beaches in equator heat...i could hardly stand to wear tank-top jersey dresses with flip flops, much less a tee-shirt, dress, and cardigan with closed toe leather flats all at once.

regardless, it was super fun to remember that at about this time two years ago boone and i were on a plane to singapore to see our nieces, and then took our jaunt to this most amazing island. thanks jcrew for the stroll down memory lane. and also, i'd really like the seafoam maxi skirt pictured above. for serious.

let's get down(ton abbey)

only 6 more days until a personal wish of mine is granted! the season 2 of Downton Abbey premieres on PBS Sunday and i've been waiting since last spring to see it. i can hardly stand it.

everything about the first season was so incredible...the clothes (and hats!) the characters, the time period (the hats!), the story, the setting...i was so aboserbed that i watched the entire season in one weekend. i loved this BBC miniseries MORE than the BBC's pride and prejudice, which is saying something since it had colin firth in it...and i don't think i'm the only one. twice recently i asked someone what they'd watched and liked recently and they gushed with me about DA for many, many minutes. if you haven't seen it, start watching it on netflix or pbs streaming right this minute (or if you're at work, the MINUTE you get home.) if you watch one episode a night and two on Saturday until Sunday when the new one premieres, you'll be 100% caught up. you'll thank me, i promise.

if you aren't convinced, here are a few stills, and a link to the website, to whet your appetite.

 oh, did i mention that the hats are amazing?

of course i love the soap-opera-ish romances and the pot-boiling feuds between the sisters, the in-laws, and the servants, but some of my favorite pieces are the little period details and social and professional expectations of the world at that time since between the sinking of the titanic and beginning of World War I there was an incredible historical turning point. also, something about the society reminds me of earlier generations of southern families. i'm glad i don't live in those times, but i'm so intrigued...

also, if i'm preaching to the choir and you've already watched the show and are as excited as i am, take 2 minutes for the character quiz to find out your downton abbey doppelganger! the last season ended as world war one began, so i can't wait to find out where the writers pick up. let me know if you'll be watching so we can chat about it.

images from google

creativity in the new year!

hey friends, meet fashionary.

apparently it's a moleskin-esque notebook for the fashion-obsessed. not only does it come with sketches of many. many. many. kinds of tops/bottoms/acessories, BUT it has pre-printed figures to help you plan the outfits you want to wear. when i was an art teacher, we did a fashion unit...the hardest part was teaching students about figure proportions, but this takes all that uncertainty away.

 love it. want it. in red.

no apologies, and something new!

aren't these colors so lovely? I know grey, greens, and browns are all the nail polish rage this fall, but I just can't bring mylsef topaint my nails any color that isn't somewhat flesh and blood colored. colors like tea with the queen, the full monty, and tramp stamp make me excited to get a pedicure. well, that and the massage chair.

find more here.

ding dong the bells are gonna chime!

what are you doing this weekend, friends? 

i think we're going to beale street to hear the avett bros and wilco...or maybe we'll play in oxford or dig in the garden. what we WON'T be doing is watching the royal wedding. sure, i'll sneak a few peaks from CNN, just to see what they're wearing (but boone'll give me hell if he catches me)

...if these pictures are any indication, there will DEFINITELY be a hat involved.

 well, regardless, it's their day,  and i hope it's a wonderful one (for them AND you...whatever your weekend plans may be!)

photos from google.

the perfect color... ?

so there's been some buzz among my most fashionable work colleagues that this season's jcrew models' lipstick is TO DIE FOR. i absolutely love the way jcrew styles things...and noticed the super bright red-orange when i opened up the catalog, but i'm not really into lipstick with tons of color. (i'd love to wear red-red, but i haven't found the right one yet). anyway, since at least 3 women i know are obsessed with the color, i figured there are more of you out there...

 so, what IS the most perfect color and fashionable color lipstick this season?the color that goes well with nudes, with jeans, with military green, AND bright orange?

are you ready?

 

here it is! NARS heat wave.

it really is beautiful... do you think i could pull it off (or could you?)

images from jcrew , the electric, and admiral and tea,
and color from hb

haaaarrrrrryyyyyypotttteerrrrr!!!!

clicking my heels...

oh oh oh oh oh....

loooooook at these! wish the grey ones weren't sold out. they would be on my christmas list and then would be my go-tos every work day! shoes from modcloth

a little window (web) shopping...

 *sigh* why are all my fave modcloth dresses sold out? boo. and so many winter weddings....

recently craving...

my obsession..berries, greek yoghurt, and honey


a new funky hairdo


a dog (or a mouse deer...whatever is easiest to make happen)


some peach shaved ice


a spotless, giant bathtub


a new pair of dansko clogs


a dinner party with my friends (i'm missing all of you pretty bad right now.) so i'm not sure where this came from.. if you know, tell me!


and the perfect blazer (b/c you know, i'm a working gal now)...or this rad leather jacket (just because... and it's only $1,250!!! what a steal.)

that's all, really. too much? yeah... hm. well then i'll focus on the blazer and some greek yoghurt. ;)